[scratch113]

So having changed from a 2019 Kodiaq Sportline to a 2022 Kodiaq Sportline, there are a few features that have changed in the software, but one that's really frustrating is that the Satnav decides for itself on the level of zoom you need to see, regardless of whether there's a route active or not.

I'm sure on my old car you could select the Satnav (tap on the map from the home screen), then zoom in or out to the level you desired so that you could either see or not see the minor (white) roads within towns, then tap on the centre icon and the level of zoom would stay where you had selected and the symbol for the car (an arrow) would stay centred in the screen. Useful when travelling along a motorway as you could see well ahead (a couple of junctions or more) and tell if there were any traffic issues ahead from the red/orange/green lines on the roads.

With the latest software, you can still zoom in or out, but when you select centre (and you have to or the symbol for the car will disappear off the screen as the map stops moving), it will then zoom way too far back in, especially if you're in a town. The level of zoom does then seem to change as you drive, being maximum zoom in when you're in a town and travelling slowly and quite zoomed out when traveling faster on a main road and not in a town. It kind of sounds logical, but there are times when I don't want this, I want to see more map that the car thinks I need to see.

This even happens if you're on a major A road that's next to the edge of a town where there are minor roads - the map stays zoomed right in even though you're travelling at 60mph and there are no junctions off the main road to get onto those minor roads. This means you can't see very far ahead on the map and have no idea if there is traffic ahead and whether you should turn off at the next available junction to avoid a queue.

I've searched the settings but can't seem to find a way of turning this off so that I decide what level of zoom I want and it doesn't change. Am I missing something?

 

[ajharvey]

The old one had an auto zoom mode you could enable by tapping on the zoom icon at the right side of the map and selecting ”Auto” printed on a magnifying glass. Is it possible this defaults on on the new version and you have to select it off?

 

[scratch113]

I'll have a look - there's a settings menu on the satnav screen but there's very little in that menu to be honest and certainly nothing to do with zoom.

 

[scratch113]

So I had a bit more of a play with the Satnav and there isn't a setting, however I have discovered that if you don't hit the 'centre' button, then the symbol for the car in fact remains in the centre of the screen and the map does move. I assumed it would be the same as my old car where if you didn't hit the 'centre' button after altering the zoom level, the map would stay stationary and the arrow for where you were would move, including off the screen.

So it is possible to set the zoom level, just don't hit the centre button that appears when you use pinch to zoom in or out.

Every day's a school day!

 

[Greycarcoming]

Or use the much better apps on your phone via Car Play.

 

[scratch113]

Or use the much better apps on your phone via Car Play.

I'm afraid I'm not a fan of the Apple Maps App, especially via Car Play - the main roads are white, the background is light grey and the minor roads are an even lighter grey. Not easy to interpret with a quick glance imho. I happen to think the Skoda maps are easier to use and it was certainly my preferred option in my old car. I'll see how I go with the new one - maybe things have moved on. Haven't tried Apple Maps via Car Play in my new car yet.

Even better is Google Maps, but sadly Apple won't let you use Google Maps via Apple Car Play afaik, you have to have an Android phone. Nothing wrong with that per se, but my experience of Android isn't great and it just doesn't integrate as well with my MacBook Pro, iPad, etc.

Horses for courses I suppose.

 

[Greycarcoming]

I read that the virtual cockpit now displays car play screens can anyone with a 2022 car confirm this? I also saw that VC background colours now change with ambient lighting, again has anyone with a new car got this? Thanks

 

[scratch113]

Haven't tried the satnav screen on the VC, but will give it a go.

Yes, the ambient lighting also changes the background colour of the VC, as well as the background colour for the bits of the HOME screen that aren't the Satnav (e.g. Radio/Media, Telephone, etc). It also changes the colour in both the front and rear footwells, which I'm sure it didn't on my old car. I've got mine set to green as it's the Skoda colour, but it seemed to default to red. Certainly when I finally managed to get the car to load my profile, all the settings I'd changed had reverted to factory default, and the ambient light changed back to red from the green I'd set.

 

[ajharvey]

Even better is Google Maps, but sadly Apple won't let you use Google Maps via Apple Car Play afaik, you have to have an Android phone.

That used to be true, but Apple allowed 3rd party maps apps to work with Carplay about 2 years ago, I think.

I still prefer the inbuilt nav, because I like the display on the Matrix screen in the dashboard (my Kodiaq predates virtual cockpit, and in any case I prefer physical instruments). I have the nav on silent and just use that display - fewer interruptions and for most of my journeys I know most of the way so just want a reminder or ’last mile’ dierctions.

 

[scratch113]

That used to be true, but Apple allowed 3rd party maps apps to work with Carplay about 2 years ago, I think.

I still prefer the inbuilt nav, because I like the display on the Matrix screen in the dashboard (my Kodiaq predates virtual cockpit, and in any case I prefer physical instruments). I have the nav on silent and just use that display - fewer interruptions and for most of my journeys I know most of the way so just want a reminder or ’last mile’ dierctions.

OK, sounds like I need to have a play with it - if Car Play now allows use of Google maps and will also display it in the VC, then happy days!

 

[scratch113]

Well I had a quick go this afternoon - can’t seem to get anything other than Apple Maps to work via CarPlay, despite having Google Maps loaded on my iPhone 12 Pro.

Also it seems fairly rubbish in comparison to the built-in Skoda Satnav system - no pinch to zoom, only +/- buttons at bottom left and for the life of me I can’t work out how to re-centre the map if you’ve dragged it away from your position (probably something simple, but it’s not intuitive).

And no, it doesn’t display Apple Maps in the VC, if you’ve got Navigation selected on that, it keeps the Skoda Satnav map, but obviously without any route information if you’ve planned a route on Apple Maps using CarPlay.

So I think I’ll just stick with the Skoda maps for now - it works for me!

 

[scratch113]

I read that the virtual cockpit now displays car play screens can anyone with a 2022 car confirm this? I also saw that VC background colours now change with ambient lighting, again has anyone with a new car got this? Thanks

Here’s a couple of pics of my VC with different background colours, which change with the ambient lighting colour. One is the light blue, the other is green:

 

[Greycarcoming]

Thanks for the photos, hopefully I will be able to play with my own car at the end of the month. It’s interesting to see how much extra functionality there seems to be in the software, one can only wonder if the latest features were unlocked to offer a few new tempting goodies to promote new car sales, or in response to the DIY hacks that are on the internet?